July 15 in LGBTQ History

1962: In New York City, Randy Wicker talks listener-supported radio station WBAI into broadcasting a taped program in which seven gay people discuss homosexuality. Widely publicized in the local press, the program is believed to be the first favorable broadcast on the subject in the U.S.

1975: Santa Cruz County, California, is the first US county to make job discrimination against gay men and lesbians illegal.

1983: San Francisco’s legendary Hothouse baths closes its doors in the wake of growing concerns over the spread of AIDS.

1985: A frail and haggard Rock Hudson makes a public appearance at a press conference to help promote the new cable TV series of his longtime friend Doris Day. Publicists for the actor, attempting to cover up his HIV-Positive status, attribute his looks to “the aftereffects of the flu and a couple of sleepless nights.”

1986: The nation’s first and only gay savings and loan association, Atlas Savings and Loan of San Francisco, goes into receivership and closes it doors.